


Growing Tall

by mnemememory



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: F/F, Light Romance, Prompt Fill, another long series of conversations, got a little bit away from me haha, you'd think i'd learn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 04:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10631784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mnemememory/pseuds/mnemememory
Summary: Prompt fill: Love your writing!!! If you're still taking prompts, how about trini's mom walking in on trini and Kim during a tender moment like Kim's holding Trini's hand and Trini's mom is like *raises eyebrows* what's going on here?? Idk if this makes any sense or anything to go off of. Hope you have a great day!!Or, Kim wants to come over and Trini regrets everything.(probably not as faithful to the prompt as you wanted, but here it is!)





	

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO once again (if you've read my other fics haha). Should have a few more PR fics up next week/the week after that, so hey, there's that. Sorry this has taken so long -_-
> 
> Also not really sure that I'm getting Trini's voice right in this. I'm super annoyed that I can't go see the movie again to get some second opinions, but hey, struggling uni student. I'll figure it out, I guess :) any tips would be appreciated!
> 
> (also hey quick tw - it's not explicit, but there is some implied homophobia here).

 

Trini knows this is a bad idea.

Things involving Kim always seemed like bad ideas, though, so she just figured it was her usual mantra of ‘don’t say yes to the pretty girl don’t say yes to the pretty girl oh man are you _stupid_ ’ and just went along with it anyway. Because apparently saying no to pretty girls was something she found difficult.

So when Kim says, “Hey, Trini, I don’t think I’ve ever been to your place” – well. Trini had put up a token protest (because there is _no way_ this wasn’t going to blow up in her face) but ultimately had caved, because hey, _maybe_ it would be nice to bring a friend – a _friend_ , Zach – home. It’d stop her parents from worrying so much, wouldn’t it? This was what they wanted. Win-win.

Except Zach wouldn’t shut up about it. “You’re introducing her to your parents!” he says, grinning up at her. She’s taken to hanging out near the abandoned gold mine, letting the height soothe the way her muscles stretched too much beneath her skin. “You haven’t even been on a second date yet! Wow, _someone_ is moving fast.”

“I could kick you off and watch you bleed out,” Trini says. “I’d laugh.”

Zach isn’t deterred, which is more than a little bit annoying. She misses the times where intimidating people had been as easy as breathing. “I’m sure you would,” he says, hopping around from one rock to the other like a rabbit on speed. Trini’s been waiting impatiently for his heart to explode for the past ten minutes, but so far, no dice. “And I’m sure it would be suitably entertaining.”

Trini’s brain catches up to his earlier comment. “And we aren’t dating! _Have not_ been dating! Why are you like this?”

“What do you call that time you went to Krispy Kreme –”

“ _We were training_.”

“With donuts,” Zach says. “By yourselves. Eating.”

“I will kill you, it will be painful, you will _scream_ by the end of –”

“Calm down, calm down,” Zach says, laughing as he dodges out from one of her airborne attacks. Trini lands on all fours, fingers gripping into the rock as easily as anything she’s ever done. It feels almost like cheating, the way her body responds to things in ways that shouldn’t be possible. All that work, all those stretches, all that time and energy – now, with her little yellow hunk of rock pressed against the lining of her pocket, she’s all but invincible.

“That wasn’t a date,” Trini repeats, turning around to glare at him. “And this isn’t one, either. My parents have been begging me to make friends, in any case. This will get them off my back.”

“Whatever you say, Trini dearest,” Zach crows, and then dodges back once again as Trini hauls a well-aimed rock at him. “Hey, ow, you don’t need to go _that_ far –”

...

“Is it okay if I bring a friend over tomorrow?”

The table cuts silent.

Trini inwardly cringes, and then steels herself and glances up. Her mother is staring at her, face paler than she’s seen in a while. Her family is smiling, like he’s proud, but also like he has no clue what’s going on. It’s not an unfamiliar smile.

Her brothers break first.

“Do you have a _boyfriend_?” one of them crows, stretching out over the table to grin at her.

“What’s his _name_?” the other one says, eyes blown wide with delight. He doesn’t wait for her to answer. “Trini and new guy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N –”

“Boys!” her mother snaps, and then both snap their mouths shut. Trini glares at them wrathfully from across the table, and then turns to fully face her mother. “Is it a boy?”

“No!” Trini says, and she wishes her voice doesn’t sound so defensive. _They don’t know_ , she thinks. “No, it’s one of my friends. Kim.”

“Kim,” her mother says, like she’s tasting the name on her tongue. Trini feels to abrupt urge to leave. “I guess so, as long as you’ve finished all your homework.”

Homework, yes. Trini _loves_ homework. She loves that she doesn’t need to do it to pass.

“We’ll just be studying,” Trini says, and the words feel hollow in her mouth. Studying, right. She wonders if Kim even bothers to study. Why did Kim even want to come over, anyway? It’s not like they don’t see each other enough, even outside of school and Power Rangers training. This is the most social that Trini’s _ever_ been, and it’s starting to freak her out, the way she’s fallen so easily into a pattern.

“Well, that should be fine,” her mother says. “Do you share classes, then? How did you meet?”

Trini sinks lower into her chair, feeling her shoulders bunch up. “ _Mum_.”

“What’s her last name?” her mother continues, relentless. “Do we know her parents?”

“I doubt it,” Trini says, skin itching. She wants to be outside, stretching out over the rocks and rocketing towards the stars. She’s fast; faster than she’s ever been before. If she starts running, though, she doesn’t think she’s ever going to stop. “Mum, how many _friends_ do you have here?”

There’s a brief, ugly silence.

“Trini,” her father says, but Trini’s done. This is a horrible idea. She’ll just tell Kim that her parents don’t want her to have friends over – it should be easy enough. Of course, she has an awful vision of Kim telling her, _Oh, okay, I’ll swing by in the middle of the night and just take a look at your place then_ , which. Is less than helpful.

Trini shakes her head and shoves her chair back, almost tripping in her haste to leave the table. “I’ll wash the dishes,” she says, grabbing her plate and shuffling towards the kitchen. It’s almost physically painful, keeping her speed normal and human. _I’m fast_ , she thinks, and then wonders if she’s really fast enough.

…

“Bring her here,” her mother says the next morning, when Trini’s trying to bolt outside the door before anyone else is awake. Her mother is sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a mug of coffee so strong that Trini is getting a second-hand caffeine hit just from the smell alone. “I want to meet her.”

“Maybe I don’t want her to meet you,” Trini says, and then regrets it.

Her mother glances up, face old. It’s strange to think of her that way, but there are lines, there. Bags. Without her makeup on, she looks tired. Trini has to glance away before she says anything else that she’s going to regret.

“Bring her here,” she repeats.

“I’ll think about it,” Trini says, and then curses herself. A deal is a deal. She’ll think about it, and then she’ll tell Kim, and then Kim is going to want to come anyway. No amount of saying _‘I don’t think this is a good idea_ ’ has made her change her mind yet.

“See you later,” Trini says gruffly, and then backs out of the house and closes the door.

…

“Hey, are you okay?”

Trini releases the death-grip she has on her backpack strap, forcibly turning her neck so give Kim a smile. Kim arches her eyebrow and silently reiterates the question.

“I’m fine,” Trini forces out, and she’s _not lying_. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Kim gives her a look. “Are you sure?” she says. “I don’t _have_ to come over, you know.”

“No, no,” Trini says. She’s already let the cat out of the bag on this one; Kim wanted to know what her family was like, and if she doesn’t get this over this, it’s just going to escalate. Best get it done quickly and with as little pain as possible. Like ripping off a band-aid.

As a kid, Trini had _hated_ ripping off band-aids.

Everyone’s home; she can already hear the boys running screaming down the hallway, can already hear her mother yelling in the background. Her father isn’t being obvious about it, but he should be there, too. Trini inhales sharply and reaches towards the doorknob, before hesitating.

“Is there something wrong, Trini?” Kim says.

“Oh, they’re going to _love_ you,” Trini says, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward.

She doesn’t announce their presence inside, because that would be too abnormal for anyone to cope with. Instead, Trini drags Kim upstairs as fast as she can, almost tripping over the stairs in her haste to get out of the firing zone.

“Trini?” her mother calls, and Trini freezes with her hand on her door. Damn. So close. “Trini, are you home?”

Kim is a silent wall at her back, and Trini’s words stick in her throat. _Respond, damn you,_ she tells herself. _C’mon, just – respond!_

“Yeah,” she says, and then clears her throat and breathes in deeper. “ _Yeah_!”

“Is your friend with you?”

“We’ll be studying in my room,” Trini shouts, and then shoves Kim into her room and closes the door with a slam. She closes her eyes, steels her shoulders, and then turns to give Kim a wide smile. “So.”

Kim doesn’t look impressed. “So,” she parrots. “Trini, just how many friends do you actually _have_?”

Trini rolls her eyes. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

Kim ignores her and flops onto Tirni’s bed, splaying out dramatically across the duvet. Trini averts her eyes from the way Kim’s shirt rides up over her stomach and rests herself against the wall. Everything’s clean, if a little dusty – she’s taken to sneaking out via her window every night and just curling up wherever she finds someplace comfortable. Rita’s attack left her more than a little leery of sleeping – well, anywhere.

“This is nice,” Kim says, eyeing the plastered-over cracks on the far wall. Trini hasn’t had the time to paint over them, but she’s planning on it. “Very neat.”

Trini huffs a laugh under her breath, reaching up to link her fingers between Kim’s. Kim rolls over and grins at Trini from above, face almost heartbreakingly beautiful.

Trini _knows_ that this isn’t what Kim wants, she _knows_ that she doesn’t – that she can’t – that this isn’t –

There’s a knock on the door, and then Trini’s mother is opening the door and is looking at them before Trini has time to let go.

“Studying,” her mother says, arching her eyebrow.

Kim steps in before Trini can start an argument. It’s handy, having friends. _Friends_. “We were just about to get started,” she says, sitting up and smiling. She doesn’t let go of Trini’s hand. “School was pretty gruelling, so we decided to take a break beforehand.”

Trini’s mother smiles, but there’s something fake about it. She’s showing too many teeth. “You must be Kim.”

“That’s me,” Kim says, straightening. “Kimberly Hart. It’s a pleasure meeting you, ma’am. I’ve heard a _lot_ about you.”

Trini squeezes Kim’s hand in warning. “Is there something you wanted, Mum?”

“I came to see if you wanted anything to eat, or drink,” her mother says. “You didn’t even come into the kitchen to say hello.”

“We’re fine, Mum,” Trini says, clipping off her words. “Anything else?”

“Dinner’s at seven, if your friend wants to stay,” her mother says. She doesn’t move away from the doorway, and Trini feels herself gripping Kim’s fingers with too much force. She tries to relax her hand, but she finds that she’s locked her arm up all the way to the shoulder.

“Mum,” Trini says.

“Come say hello properly before your friend leaves,” her mother says, and then exits the room. She doesn’t close the door. There’s a brief silence as Kim doesn’t talk and Trini just waits for it, just waits for her to say _something_. There’s a reason that Trini never brings anyone home, and her mother is 70% of it.

With her father claiming at least 10%, the remaining 20% proceed to hurtle into her room without even having the grace to knock. Trini leaps up and makes a grab for her brothers as they start shouting questions at Kim, but Kim just laughs and sits up.

“You didn’t mention you had brothers,” she says.

Trini freezes, and her brothers give her identical looks of betrayal. “You haven’t _mentioned_ us?”

“You’re cute,” Kim says with a grin. “But we’re busy, so scram.”

With starry eyes, one of her brothers drops to the ground and opens up his arms. “Marry me.”

Trini grabs each by an arm and herds them into the hallway. “Get _out_ ,” she hisses, face red and heart beating fast enough to kill her. “I’ll kill you later.”

“I’m going to marry your friend,” one of them says, eyes gleaming. “She’s pretty and mean and –”

“You need better standards,” Trini mutters, slamming the door shut.

…

  
“I’m glad you’re making friends, Trini,” her father says that night. Kim’s gone home – Trini had almost had to beg her; _C’mon, Kim, please don’t do this to me, you’ve seen enough_ – but her parents won’t stop talking about it. _We’re so happy for you_ , they say, _This is great, you need to branch out more and stretch your wings and –_

“Can’t you find anyone _better_ , though?” her mother says. “She seems a bit…”

Trini closes her eyes. _Don’t do this to me. Please_.

“Kim’s great,” she says, but the words feel dry and hollow. Everything feels dry and hollow; her lungs aren’t working properly, but she’s breathing just fine.

“Oh, I know, honey,” her mother says. “And I know that you’re trying to fit in – and she _seems_ sweet, but –”

“But _what_?” Trini says. “You saw her for like two minutes.”

“You two seemed awfully –”

_Please, PLEASE don’t do this_.

“She’s a friend from school. I thought you _wanted_ me to make friends,” Trini says, lounging back. She’s faced Rita Repulsa down. She’s driven an alien mecha _sabre tooth tiger_ , this can’t be that difficult – this isn’t that –

“We know, honey, we just don’t want you hanging out with the wrong people.”

“She seemed nice to me,” her father says.

Her mother shoots him a glare. “You didn’t exactly _talk_ to her, now, did you? Kim Hart, was it? I think I’ve heard that name –”

“Are you _serious_?” Trini says, glaring. “You cannot be _serious_ , this is ridiculous, I can’t believe that you’re –”

“Wait, Trini, where are you –”

…

 

Trini sits on the top of the gold mine and breathes; in and out, in and out. The stars stretch out overhead and devour the darkness, the jagged edges of the horizon silhouetted black.

She’s free, she’s free, she’s free –

…

**Author's Note:**

> I shall return! This is not the end of my love letters to Power Rangers! 
> 
> Also, you know what was annoying? THAT I COULDN'T FIND NAMES FOR ANYONE IN TRINI'S FAMILY like goddamn. I was *this close* to naming her brothers Thing 1 and Thing 2, it was that annoying to write. If anyone has ANY info on them please please tell me. 
> 
> anyway, come say hi on tumblr! (http://mnemememory.tumblr.com/). It's all writing stuff and whatever fandom i'm in!


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